Department for Transport

Aviation: EU Law

Lord Balfe: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the remarks by Lord Balfe andLord Callanan on 6 February (HL Deb cols 1062–83), whether the Minister is now in a position to write in response the points raised regarding aviation.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: As Lord Callanan stated, the Government are committed to maintaining comprehensive safety standards, including in aviation. Officials engage with industry regularly, including through the industry engagement forum, to ensure their views as to how best to use the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill to achieve this are taken into account. Moreover, officials will meet with BALPA to discuss the specific issues raised by Lord Balfe, in order to better understand concerns, and clarify the discussion had at that forum.

Railway Network

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to introduce reforms to the railway network.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: The Secretary of State outlined his vision for rail reform during his Bradshaw Address on 7 February 2023. As outlined in the Address, the Government is committed to the creation of Great British Railways (GBR) as a guiding mind to coordinate the rail network. The Secretary of State also outlined plans to announce the winner of GBR Headquarters before Easter and to publish the Government’s response to the rail transformation legislation consultation before summer recess.

Thirsk Station: Disability

Baroness McIntosh of Pickering: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessmentthey have made of disabled access to Thirsk Station; and what plans they have to make improvements to that access.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: We have completed accessibility audits at over 95% across Great British mainline stations and expect to finish this work by Spring. Thirsk station was also one of 300 stations nominated for the next round of the Access for All programme, and we hope to be in a position to announce successful projects later this year.

Roads: Freight

Lord Bradshaw: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they will take to ensure that any call for evidence they launch into road transport law would reference the substantial body of transport legislation that would be affected by the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: Officials across the Department for Transport are reviewing the stock of Retained EU Law relevant to road transport. As a part of this process, road transport law that is in scope of the Retained EU Law Bill is being reviewed to ensure that it is effective and fit for purpose. The Department will share more information on individual pieces of regulation in due course, whilst also ensuring it provides the information to keep the public Retained EU Law dashboard updated.

Transport: EU Law

Lord Balfe: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the remarks byLord Callanan on 6 February (HL Deb col 1082), when the Department for Transport industry engagement forum will next meet to discuss the impact of the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill on that industry.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: This forum is next scheduled to meet on 14th March.

Railways: Fares

Lord Bradshaw: To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to reduce the cost of long distance railway fares; and what assessment they have made of the possibility of tapering the cost per mile of journeys after a certain distance for long distance fares

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: Rail fares are influenced by multiple different factors, and there are a range of Advance fares available for many long-distance journeys that are priced highly competitively. We have been clear in the Plan for Rail that we want to simplify the current mass of complicated fares and tickets, whilst protecting affordable turn up and go tickets and season tickets. As part of this we will extend the single leg pricing trial to the rest of LNER’s network, making fares more flexible for passengers, and trial demand-based pricing on some LNER services.

Motor Vehicles: Licensing

Lord Marlesford: To ask His Majesty's Government how many vintage vehicles are currently licenced free of road tax; and what is the cost to the taxpayer of that concession.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: There are currently 1,102,021 vehicles in the historic vehicle taxation class. Of these 595,823 are currently licensed and attract a nil rate of vehicle excise duty. His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs publish official statistics on structural tax reliefs ever year. The latest estimate for the historic tax class was published on 12 January is £130m for 2022-23.

Department of Health and Social Care

Evusheld

Lord Mendelsohn: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer byLord Markham on 28 November 2022 (HL3368), whether they can (1) provide further information on the equalities and impact assessment undertaken by the Antivirals and Therapeutics TaskForce, and (2) disclose which experts were involved in its production.

Lord Markham: The Equalities and Impact Assessment analysed the impact of the decision not to procure Evusheld on all groups with protected characteristics, and the effect of the decision on immunosuppressed patients who are unable to complete vaccination or produce an adequate response to vaccination. The assessment considered a range of evidence, including the Independent Advisory Group report and OCTAVE study. The Independent Advisory Group report identified a cohort of patients who are unlikely to respond to vaccination and who could potentially benefit from a Pre-exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) programme. The estimated cohort size is approximately 150,000, although there remains substantial uncertainty attached to these numbers. The Antivirals and Therapeutics Taskforce has also worked with the Therapeutics Clinical Review Panel, Prophylaxis Oversight Group and the Engagement Board, and these organisations consist of scientific experts, including clinicians, pharmacists, evidence assessors and researchers. The assessment shows that the availability of effective PrEP could particularly benefit those with disabilities. However, the impacts and benefits of a PrEP programme, for patients identified throughout the assessment, would only occur if a suitable prophylactic option existed. Uncertainty remains of the impact of Evusheld as a prophylactic treatment, with RAPID C-19 additionally still unsure if Evusheld would prevent symptomatic COVID-19 caused by current Omicron variants. In line with that advice, the Government will not be procuring Evusheld at this time.

Coronavirus: Medical Treatments

Lord Mendelsohn: To ask His Majesty's Government how many meetings of theRAPID C-19 independent advisory groupthere have been since September 2022; and what plans they have to continue to review these processes to ensure that new treatments for COVID-19 are made available safely to National Health Service patients as soon as possible after they are approved by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).

Lord Markham: The RAPID C-19 individual advisory group has met five times since 1 September 2022. As we move from emergency pandemic arrangements towards routine commissioning of COVID-19 medicines, the time-limited role of RAPID C-19 is effectively at an end. RAPID C-19’s role was to monitor emerging trial evidence for the clinical effectiveness of potential treatments in real time during the pandemic and was essential to assess whether evidence was strong enough to warrant consideration of interim access prior to National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) assessment. The NICE Multiple Technology Appraisal (MTA) for COVID-19 treatments and Single Technology Appraisal (STA) for tixagevimab and cilgavimab (Evusheld) prophylaxis are in progress and moving rapidly and NICE’s final guidance will replace current interim pandemic arrangements when published. To support movement towards routine commissioning activity for COVID-19 medicines and clarify routes to access for stakeholders, RAPID C-19 is no longer reviewing information on the medicines currently in the MTA and STA. Following publication of the final guidance, NICE will monitor for emerging evidence that may affect the current recommendations as part of standard guidance surveillance processes. New treatments in clinical development for COVID-19 will be identified and selected in accordance with NICE’s health technology evaluation topic selection processes.

Food: Regulation

Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the research paper An approach to conflicts of interest in UK food regulatory institutions, published in Nature Food on 30 December 2022; and what plans they have, if any, to address any risk of any conflicts of interest for members of food policy advisory committees, including in the Food Standards Agency and Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

Lord Markham: The Food Standards Agency (FSA) strives to be an open and transparent organisation. When people provide formal advice through their scientific committees and advisory bodies, there are clear processes in place so that their interests are declared and this information is publicly available.FSA Board members also declare their interests. These are scrutinised as part of the appointment process and continually updated. This information is also available on the FSA’s website and where relevant to a formal Board or Committee discussion, it is documented at the public meeting.Recruiting people to the FSA Board and Committees who have experience and insights from across the food system helps the FSA deliver its mission to keep food safe. The paper did not identify any evidence that bias arising from conflicts of interest has influenced the work of the FSA.The FSA will keep its approach to managing potential conflicts of interest up to date, and in line with all relevant Government guidance. It will also continue to strive to ensure that decisions are made with consumer interests front and centre of our thinking and to be transparent in our decision-making.For committees listed on the Public Appointments Order in Council 2016 where members are appointed by Ministers, such as the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs Advisory Committee on Releases to the Environment which adheres to the principles and guidance set down in the Governance Code on Public Appointments. This includes reminding candidates of the need to declare any conflicts of interest at application and interview stage, and ensuring candidates are familiar with Nolan principles.

Food: Children

Lord Moylan: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Department of Health and Social Care on 24 November 2022 (92381), why products containingover 50 per cent of fruit, nuts and seeds are subject to restrictions applied to products high in fat, salt and sugar, when no assessment has been made of the levels of consumption by children of such products.

Lord Markham: The Food (Promotion and Placement) (England) Regulations 2021 apply to products that are high in fat, sugar or salt found in categories of food and drink that contribute substantially to children's sugar and calorie intakes, are heavily promoted and therefore are most concern for childhood obesity. To determine if a product is in scope of the restrictions, the product must meet two criteria. First, the product must fall in one of the 13 categories listed in the regulations. The categories mostly align with the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities sugar and calorie reduction and reformulation programmes. The categories chosen were informed by consumption data of everyday foods that contribute to the intakes of children up to the age of 18 years old. Once a product is found to be in one of those 13 categories, the Nutrient Profiling Model 2004/05 and associated 2011 technical guidance provides an overall assessment of the nutritional content of products. If a food product scores four or more or a drink product scores one or more, then the product is considered less healthy and is therefore in scope of the restrictions. Whilst no specific assessment has been made of the levels of consumption by children, sweet biscuits and bars containing over 50% of fruit, nuts and seeds, are in scope of the promotions regulations and included in the biscuit category of the sugar reduction programme as they are likely to be eaten in a similar way, and at the same type of eating occasion, as cereal bars.

Department for Education

Home Education

Lord Lucas: To ask His Majesty's Government what is Ofsted's policy regardingits expectation of the duties and actions of Local Authority Elective Home Education Officers.

Baroness Barran: When inspecting Local Authority children’s social care services, Ofsted looks at the arrangements for children’s welfare and protection while they are being electively home educated.Ofsted will look at the ways in which Local Authorities identify children who are not receiving suitable education and what steps the Local Authority takes to deal with that, particularly those children who are either on a child protection plan, education, health and care plan, or are a child in need as part of its children’s social care remit. They may also request a report on children for whom the local authority is responsible who are of school age and who are not in receipt of full-time school education at the time of inspection.The ‘Evaluating the educational progress of children in care and care leavers’ section of the Ofsted framework for inspections states that Her Majesty’s Inspectors will analyse data and information on elective home educated children and children missing education, as part of these inspections.Inspectors do not have powers to evaluate or comment on the quality of home education, only the way Local Authorities deal with it as part of their statutory responsibilities.

Secondary Education: Artificial Intelligence

Lord Hampton: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the reply byBaroness Barran on 19 January (HL Deb col 1920), what were the outcome of talks with Ofqual about the use of AI in secondary schools.

Baroness Barran: Ofqual has confirmed that exam boards are aware of the opportunities and challenges presented by artificial intelligence (AI) to qualifications, and work is ongoing in this area, including with the devolved regulators.There are already strict rules in place, set by exam boards, to ensure pupils’ work, including non-exam assessment, is their own. Sanctions for cheating are serious and include being disqualified from a qualification, if necessary.

Department for Culture, Media and Sport

Charities: Lotteries

Lord Randall of Uxbridge: To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to hold further consultations on charity lottery limits; and when they will be held.

Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay: Society lottery limits were last increased as part of a wider package of reforms in 2020. These reforms were reviewed 12 months after they were implemented. The results of the review were published in March 2022, and can be accessed on the gov.uk website. The review concluded that it was too soon to reach any firm view on the impact of the changes, especially during a time when the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic made evaluation more difficult, and that more data on annual growth of the sector were required before considering any further changes. Officials continue to work with the Gambling Commission, as part of its regulatory role, to keep the sector under review.

Department for Work and Pensions

Workplace Pensions

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to automatically enrol workers who are (1) low paid, or (2) aged under 22, into a workplace pension scheme, given the increased cost of living.

Viscount Younger of Leckie: The 2017 Review of Automatic Enrolment (AE) sets out our ambition to remove the Lower Earnings Limit so that pension contributions are payable from the first pound of earnings and reduce the qualifying age for AE to 18. This will help young people and lower earners, including many women, to build financial resilience through generating more meaningful retirement savings.We remain committed to the implementation of the 2017 Review ambitions in the mid-2020s.We have always been clear that changes to the AE framework would be made in a way and at a time that is affordable, balancing the needs of savers, employers and taxpayers.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Wetlands: Conservation

The Marquess of Lothian: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking (1) to prevent any further loss of wetlands, and (2) to restore wetlands to their natural state.

Lord Benyon: In England we have set four legally binding targets for biodiversity:- By 2030: to halt the decline in species abundance.- By 2042: to reverse declines in species abundance; to reduce the risk of species extinction; and restore or create more than 500,000 hectares of wildlife-rich habitat. Wetland restoration is important in driving species recovery. On 31 January, the Government published its second statutory Environmental Improvement Plan (EIP23). The EIP23 is delivery focused and sets out the actions that will drive us towards reaching our long-term targets and goals. Through its active role in the Ramsar Convention on wetlands, the UK is also committed to supporting the conservation and wise use of wetlands internationally. In support of this we will establish a UK wetland inventory, mapping our wetlands for the first time. The majority of the UK’s saltmarsh habitats are already in Marine Protected Areas. Our focus is now on ensuring these are effectively managed. The Environment Agency leads the ‘Restoring Meadows, Marsh and Reef Initiative’, working with partners across government, the environmental NGO sector, academia and industry to facilitate the accelerated restoration of estuarine and coastal habitats, with saltmarshes being one of their three initial focus habitats. The England Peat Action Plan, published in May 2021, sets out a strategic framework to improve management and protection of both our upland and lowland peatlands. In the Net Zero Strategy, we committed to aim to restore approximately 280,000 ha of peatland in England by 2050.  We are increasing levels of peatland restoration through the Nature for Climate Fund (NCF), which aims to provide funding for the restoration of approximately 35,000 ha of peatland by 2025. This represents a tripling of historic average annual restoration levels. The NCF is providing over £33 million to restore 20,000 hectares of peatlands, with a further bidding round in 2023. The NCF Discovery Grant has also awarded over £5 million to 15 projects across England, stretching from Dorset to Northumberland, enabling the foundation work needed to prepare for the restoration of over 51,000 ha of peatland. Through our Environmental Land Management schemes we are funding actions to maintain and improve wetland biodiversity, and to reduce nutrient and water supply pressures on wetlands. We published an update on our Environmental Land Management schemes on 26 January.

Home Office

Asylum: Children

Baroness Eaton: To ask His Majesty's Government how many unaccompanied asylum-seeking children arrived in England in each month in 2022.

Lord Murray of Blidworth: The latest published Immigration Statistics detail the number of unaccompanied asylum seeking children (UASC). These statistics can be found at Asylum and resettlement datasets:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/asylum-and-resettlement-datasetsUASC application data is located within table ASY_D0.Immigration Statistics (xlsx, 1215.4KB)

Asylum: Northern Ireland

Lord Empey: To ask His Majesty's Government whether anyasylum seekers who are residing in Northern Ireland have criminal records in their countries of origin.

Lord Murray of Blidworth: This data can only be obtained at disproportionate costs as it would require a manual search through individual records to establish their address and whether they have a criminal record in their country of origin.All individuals who claim asylum are subject to mandatory security checks against their claimed identity including criminality checks on UK databases for, amongst other things, convictions, pending prosecutions, wanted or missing reports. This is critical to the delivery of a safe and secure immigration system.

Asylum: Children

Lord Scriven: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer byLord Murray of Blidworth on 9 February (HL5157), whether they have evidenceof organised criminal gangs targeting any unaccompanied child refugees staying in hotels, including those children that have reportedly gone missing from hotels housing asylum seekers in the last 12 months.

Lord Murray of Blidworth: We have no evidence of organised criminal gangs targeting unaccompanied child refugees staying in hotels.

Napier Barracks: Accommodation Centres

The Lord Bishop of Durham: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Murray of Blidworth on 6 December 2022 (HL3643), why they did not produce a statement of community involvement when the consultation on extending planning permission for the accommodation facility at Napier barracks was for this stated purpose.

Lord Murray of Blidworth: A Statement of Community Involvement (SCI) is normally used in the development of a Local Plan by a local planning authority. However, in the case of a change of use application which was the subject of the Special Development Order (SDO) then an SCI would generally not be required. It is for the developer to decide if they wish to submit an SCI which would usually provide a summary of who, when and how stakeholders had been engaged with. An SCI will not be produced as it is not a requirement of the SDO; however, we have sought to engage with the local community through correspondence and the provision of relevant information on the gov.uk website.

Asylum

The Lord Bishop of Durham: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the effect on the asylum application waiting list of the requirement to reassess refugees with Group 2 status every 30 months.

Lord Murray of Blidworth: The Home Office will publish further details in due course on the process for Group 2 refugees applying for further temporary refugee permission to stay after 30-months.

Short-term Holding Facilities: Standards

The Lord Bishop of Durham: To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will publish statistics on the number of days individuals have been held for on arrival before re-accommodation under the provisions of the Short-term Holding Facility (Amendment) Rules 2022 concerning holding people for up to 96 hours.

Lord Murray of Blidworth: Data relating to detention in Short-Term Holding Facilities is published as part of quarterly migration statistics, however the Government has no plans to publish specific data on the number of days individuals have been held on arrival in the UK before subsequent accommodation.

Refugees: Afghanistan

Baroness Lister of Burtersett: To ask His Majesty's Government, further toWritten Answer byLord Murray of Blidworth on 6 February (HL5085),what steps they are taking to determine the details of any family members who were separated from people evacuated to the UK from Afghanistan as part of Operation Pitting.

Lord Murray of Blidworth: The government remains committed to providing protection for vulnerable people fleeing Afghanistan. However, the situation is very complex and presents significant challenges, including how those who are eligible for resettlement in the UK can leave the country. This includes the eligible family members of those being resettled under the ACRS. For those evacuated from Afghanistan under the ACRS without their immediate family members, further information will be made available in due course about options for reuniting with them.Whilst the Home Office are currently not able to provide a breakdown of family members data, work is underway to assure information relating to all the individuals relocated under the ARAP and ACRS is on case working systems. Once this work concludes, further statistics on both schemes - including the number of people resettled under each - will be included in the published Immigration Statistics.

Asylum: Children

Baroness Lister of Burtersett: To ask His Majesty's Government what plans theyhave to end the use of hotels accommodating unaccompanied asylum-seeking children.

Baroness Lister of Burtersett: To ask His Majesty's Government what support, including (1) legal support, (2) mental health support, and (3) medical provision, they are providing to unaccompanied asylum-seeking children placed in hotels.

Lord Murray of Blidworth: The rise in the number of small boat crossings has placed significant pressures on local authority care placements for young people. Out of necessity, and with the best interests of the child in mind, we have had no alternative but to temporarily use hotels to give some unaccompanied children a roof over their heads whilst local authority accommodation is found.The safety and welfare of those in our care, including unaccompanied asylum-seeking children (UASC), is our primary concern and the Home Office has robust safeguarding procedures in place to ensure those in our accommodation are as safe and supported as possible as we seek urgent placements with a local authority. Young people are supported by team leaders and support workers who are on site 24 hours a day, alongside social workers and nurses.The National Transfer scheme (NTS) has already transferred 3,148 children to local authorities with children’s services between 1 July 2021 and 30 September 2022. This compares to 739 children transferred in the same time period in the previous year. We are providing local authorities with children’s services with an additional £15,000 for every eligible young person they take into their care from a dedicated UASC hotel, or the Reception and Safe Care Service in Kent, by the end of February 2023.All UASC in interim emergency hotels are referred to local authorities under the mandated NTS within the shortest time frame possible. The time it takes for a local authority to identify a placement varies and has meant some UASC experiencing delays in transferring.

Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities

Private Rented Housing: Energy Performance Certificates

Lord Marlesford: To ask His Majesty's Government how many privately rented dwellings hold a current Energy Performance Certificate; and what proportion of those are certified in each of the bands A to H.

Baroness Scott of Bybrook: All privately rented dwellings are required to have a valid Energy Performance Certificate when they are placed on the market. The English Housing Survey Private Rented Sector report provides an estimate of the proportion of privately rented dwellings in each rating band.The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities publishes data tables on all Energy Performance of Buildings Certificates lodged on the Energy Performance of Buildings Registers since 2008.Energy Performance Certificates (pdf, 211.9KB)Live data tables (pdf, 218.9KB)

What Works Centre for Wellbeing

Baroness Morgan of Cotes: To ask His Majesty's Government who is the ministerial lead for Mission 8 of Levelling Up; and how they intend to work with theWhat Works Centre for Wellbeing.

Baroness Scott of Bybrook: The Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities is the ministerial lead for the well-being mission. As part of the Government's exploratory work on the well-being mission we have engaged with a range of experts including the What Works Centre for Wellbeing and we will continue to work in a collaborative way across and beyond Government to deliver the mission.

Levelling Up Fund

Lord Rogan: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer byBaroness Scott of Bybrook on 2 February (HL4921), why the Levelling Up Fund Round 2 allocated (1)9.98 per cent of funding to Wales againstan entitlement share of 4.70 per cent of UK funds under the Barnett formula, (2) 3.41 per cent to Northern Ireland against an entitlement share of 2.75 per cent, and (3) 8.49 per cent to Scotland against an entitlement share of 8.08 per cent.

Baroness Scott of Bybrook: I refer the noble Lord to the answer to Question UIN HL4921 on 2 February 2023. HL4921 (pdf, 119.9KB)

Freeports: Customs

Baroness Adams of Craigielea: To ask His Majesty's Government what variation in normal customs rules are applied within each freeport in the UK.

Baroness Scott of Bybrook: Businesses authorised by HMRC to operate on specific, secure 'customs sites' within Freeports can take advantage of a special customs procedure which builds on facilitations available elsewhere in the UK. The details of this procedure can be found (attached) in HMRC's guidance on customs sites. UK Freeport customs site (pdf, 169.7KB)

UK Shared Prosperity Fund

Baroness Randerson: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the new UK Shared Prosperity Fund on the total amount of funding awarded by local authority area for partnerships between universities for research purposes, compared with funding received under the previous EU schemes to which universities were entitled to apply; and what steps they intend to take to address any disparities identified by that assessment.

Baroness Scott of Bybrook: The UKSPF is not a direct replacement for EU structural funds. It improves on these funds by giving local areas a greater say in investments. DLUHC recognises the important role of universities and has made them an integral part of local partnership groups in the development of investment plans and ongoing delivery. Universities are still entitled to apply for UKSPF funding in their local areas.

Planning Permission: Climate Change

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to write to all local authorities in England asking them to consider climate change in making planning decisions, including major developments.

Baroness Scott of Bybrook: The Government has made clear in the National Planning Policy Framework that local planning authorities plans should take a proactive approach to mitigating and adapting to climate change in line with the objectives and provisions of the Climate Change Act 2008. The Framework must, as a matter of law, be taken into account in preparing the development plan, and is a material consideration in planning decisions.Furthermore, as part of our wider ambitions for an improved planning system we intend to review the Framework to ensure that it contributes to climate change mitigation and adaption as fully as possible. The publication of the consultation on reforms to national planning policy, published 22 December 2022, is a first step in this process.

Northern Ireland Office

Electric Scooters: Northern Ireland

Lord Rogan: To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to legislate to regulate the use of electric scooters in Northern Ireland in the absence of a Northern Ireland Assembly and Northern Ireland Executive.

Lord Caine: In the absence of Northern Ireland Executive ministers, the Northern Ireland (Executive Formation etc.) Act provides Northern Ireland civil servants with the clarity they require to take the limited but necessary decisions to maintain delivery of public services and operate in the public interest. The Act does not however give the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland direction powers on specific policies, other than in relation to pressing public appointments and the requirement to set the regional rate.The swiftest way for legislation on Northern Ireland affairs such as this is for the Northern Ireland Assembly and Executive to be restored. It remains the Government’s priority to work towards the restoration of devolved government in Northern Ireland.